In the field of commercial art, there is a significant need for a simple means of transferring prefabricated letters or characters to a "pasteup" sheet for later photographing or printing. A dry rub-on transfer letter process is well known, however, these materials are supplied in sheets and must be carefully aligned to produce acceptable images. Machines were later developed which prepared such letters on a continuous tape. This solved many of the problems in the prior art. Such a machine is shown in PCT Publication WO 82/03600.
One of the problems with this technology is that the pigment carried by the ribbon or film transfers very easily upon touch and may be damaged by scratching, bending, etc. so that, during the transfer process, a portion of the character printed may be lacking in pigment, thus destroying the job. Therefore, it is essential that a device which holds and supplies the ribbon to the printing station be capable of delivering the ribbon continuously and without damage. Furthermore, it is essential that the ribbon be easy to install within the machine without the user touching the ribbon so as to maintain clean hands. Finally, a convenient method of disposing of spent ribbon would be desirable since, again, touching the ribbon is quite messy.
The present invention overcomes the above-stated problems in the prior art by providing a simple and highly effective cassette for handing film or ribbon through the print station and provides for disposal thereof after use.